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Beth (Esho) is no stranger to the pages of Art and Zen Today. Three years ago we published Beth’s article “BETH MOSKAL MILLIGAN ON SUMI-E PAINTING AND ZEN PRACTICES” where she wrote about her studies with Sumi-e master Takashi Ijichi and Zen practice with Jake Roshi. ( http://artandzentoday.com/?p=3243 ). The short talk from the Shuso Hossen , captured in the video below, expands upon this earlier article. Pay attention to the points that Beth makes in the video; I think they are very consistent with my musical responses to the Shuso Koan as seen in a video posted earlier ( http://artandzentoday.com/?p=4678)

To see Beth’s “Art From the Heart” talk at the Shuso Hossen, please click below:

Today’s posting is a video of Eric Kuniholm reading a short story called “Ziggy”. It is a part of a novel that Eric is writing that is about dog detectives. Eric has been associated with theVistaZenCenterfor 20 years and brings his Zen insights to his writings. You can see this video at the link below:

Recent posts on the Art and Zen Today site have involved segments from my Shuso Hossen Ceremony in March of 2016. The last post was a video of the last of my musical performance during the ceremony. Last I looked, the count of those viewing the video was unusually low. So, if you haven’t already, you may want to view this one as it is really the most straightforward response to the Shuso Koan of all my performances. (See this video , titled “Art and the Four Vows” at:

Hi and welcome to another edition of Art and Zen Today. Today’s post consists of more video from my Shuso Hossen Ceremony. We start off with Eyal Raz reading Rumi’s “The House Guest. This is one of three short stories read by Eyal during the Ceremony. All of them come from a tradition other than Zen but all convey the same depth of wisdom found in the most profound Zen texts. The texts of the other two stories read by Eyal are printed below. Following that is the second of my performance raps, which were intended as responses to the Koan I was given. It’s called “Master Bodhidharma, Bodhisattva Bodhidharma”. For more on the Shuso Hossen Ceremony and other topics related to Zen and art use the SEARCH option or click on relevant CATEGORY at the right.

Below is a link to my first rap performance in response to my Shuso Koan (see: http://artandzentoday.com/?p=4380 ). There are three pieces of information that might make my rap a bit more meaningful. The first is that, following Zen tradition, the Shuso Hossen ceremony started off with my teacher handing me a Shippei; a staff that is a symbol of a Zen master’s authority. I held the Shippei before the audience and spoke the following worlds:

“This is a 3 foot long black snake. A long time ago it had become a konpura flower on Mt Gudrakuta, and on Mt. Shorin it had become plum blossom. Sometimes it transforms into a dragon and swallows heaven and earth. Sometimes it transforms into a diamond sword with freedom to kill and give life. Right now, in accord with the order of my teacher, it lies in my hands. I feel like a mosquito trying to bite an iron bull. However, being assigned as head trainee, I have to fulfill my duties”.

Secondly, in a series of lectures leading up to the Shuso Hossen Ceremony, I explored the nature and function of Zen ritual. I spent a great deal of time in these lectures discussing an article entitled “Rituals” by Robert Sharf. The author suggests that it is useful to view rituals as a form of transubstantiation where the participants understand that many aspects of their ritual activities are a form of play and yet can be taken seriously. He says that just as a child who uses a stick to represent a horse when playing cowboys understands that the stick is not really a horse, ritual participants act “as if” certain things are true or real, while knowing that it is only “as if”. The most common example of this is the idea in communion that the wine offered by the priest is the blood of Christ. I suggested, in my lectures, that engaging in the “as ifness” of rituals can be a way of learning to remain engaged in everyday life while not being attached (i.e. in society by not of society). To see two earlier posts on “transubstantiation”, type that term in the Search Box on the right and hit “enter” on your computer.

The third item that might be helpful to look at before watching the video is a poem written by Jake Roshi several years ago and published on this site in an article titled “Poems and Images of Five Vista Zen Center Artists” (see: http://artandzentoday.com/?p=3541 ). The poem is not long but it is laid out in a visually interesting way and so you have to scroll down a bit to get to the video.

Last week’s post was the beginning of a series having to do with my Shuso Hossen Ceremony held on March 5th. Since the format of the Ceremony was a bit nontraditional, Jake Roshi wanted us to sit down and “process” the event. I brought a series of questions to the meeting that had been sent to me by Judy after the Ceremony. I used her questions as sort of a jumping off point for our conversation. I video taped my discussion with Roshi and the video below is one segment of our conversation, prompted by some of Judy’s questions. I will likely release more parts of our discussion in the future. Warning: this video will have more meaning for viewers who attended the Ceremony. To see earlier posts regarding my Shuso Hossen Ceremony, use the Search Categories to the right or type in “Shuso Hossen” in the Search Window.

Below is a link to a new video that was used in my Shuso Hossen Ceremony. It involves images of the Vista Zen Center and music produced by me and Central Florida’s favorite blues singer “Stoney” Stone. For more background on the ceremony, the video and Stoney, read below before watching.

About a month ago I published a post titled “Koan For Manoj’s Shuso Hossen” (http://artandzentoday.com/?p=4380). In that article I wrote:

In this ceremony a student offers his or her understanding of the Koan and fields questions from other students about the Koan to demonstrate their readiness to be considered a senior student. Usually, students are assigned to work on one of the traditional Koans that have been part of the training for Zen monks throughout the centuries in China and Japan. However, my teacher has decided to explore alternative Koans that speak more to Westerners living and practicing Zen in non-monastic circumstances.

The Ceremony was held on March 5, 1916 and many of my upcoming posts will either entail segments from the video recordings made that night or will be based on my experiences as a Shuso at the Vista Zen Center. The essence of my Shuso Koan (see below) had to do with how I would or could fulfill the Four Bodhisattva Vows as an artist. During the Ceremony I presented 5 different musical performances that I saw as answering my Koan. In addition to my presentations, about 15 other members of the Center also gave short performances displaying their understanding of Zen and their creative interests. So the Ceremony consisted of a full evening of poems, songs, stories, demonstrations and short talks etc.

Shuso Koan

I ended my portion of the evening by singing Sly Stone’s “I want to Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again” using altered lyrics that I hoped expressed my appreciation to my teacher and fellow students for providing a safe place to practice Zen.

A week after the Ceremony, my wife’s niece Elene and her boyfriend “Stoney” visited with us for a few days. They both are musicians and play together in various venues in central Florida. Stoney’s other band “Stoney and the Housebreakers” also play for events throughout Florida and have produced numerous CDs. Their album “Cruisin’ For A Bluesin’ ” was the recipient of the prestigious Central Florida “CD of The Year Award” in 2009 @ The Brevard Live Florida Music Awards.(See the band’s website: http://www.stoney3.com/ )

Elene and Stoney

Anyway, soon after our visitors arrived, I had Stoney in my studio singing the altered lyrics to the Sly Stone classic. The short video below incorporates the recording Stoney and I produced and is accompanied by images compiled for the Shuso Hossen Ceremony to display the talents and dedication of the members of the Vista Zen Center.

This week’s guest blogger is Jake Jiyu Gage, Roshi. He wrote a reply to my last post entitled “What Are You Presently Listening to?” Because his response was in the form of a poem, I decided to publish it as a post.Since poetry is one of the most useful expressions of a spiritual practioner’s inner experiences, there has been a close association of Zen and poetry throughout history. If you haven’t already, I would suggest that you read the previous post before enjoying the poem below. For those unfamiliar with Zen, the description of Koans, below the poem, may be helpful. Jake is

the founder of the The Vista Zen Center in Vista California.

————————————————————————————————————————-

“What Am I Listening to Presently”

featuring Jake Jiyu Gage

and

The Hotei-ji Chamber Orchestra

(with special thanks to “System

of a Down”)

1700 Koans*

1700 Koans

Going off

All at once

In the Zen Symphony

Known as:

“What Am I presently listening to?”

Each Koan

Different:

In Name

In Number

In Collection Found

In Tone

In Duration

In Dynamics

In Frequency

In Beginning

In Middling

In Ending

In Trailing Off

In Disappearing

In Reappearing

In Main Case

In Commentary

In Capping Phrase

In Resolution

In Acceptance

Or

In Denial

Ring, Ring, Ring

In Starting Over

In Trying Again

In Gaining Acceptance

No Ringing

*Koans (from Chinese kung-an, literally “public notice,” or “public announcement”) are based on anecdotes of Zen (Chinese: Ch’an) masters. There are said to be 1,700 koans in all. The two major collections are the Pi-yen lu (Chinese: “Blue Cliff Records”; Japanese: Hekigan-roku), consisting of 100 koans selected and commented on by a Chinese priest, Yüan-wu, in 1125 on the basis of an earlier compilation; and the Wu-men kuan (Japanese: Mumon-kan), a collection of 48 koans compiled in 1228 by the Chinese priest Hui-k’ai (known also as Wu-men)

in Zen Buddhism of Japan, a succinct paradoxical statement or question used as a meditation discipline for novices, particularly in the Rinzai sect. The effort to “solve” a koan is intended to exhaust the analytic intellect and the egoistic will, readying the mind to entertain an appropriate response on the intuitive level. Each such exercise constitutes both a communication of some aspect of Zen experience and a test of the novice’s competence. A well known koan is: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Here is an old Zen story I just found that seems to relate to Roshi’s Poem.

The disciple was always complaining to his master, “you are hiding the final secret of Zen from me.” And he would not accept the master’s denials. One day they were walking in the hills when they heard a bird sing.

“Did you hear that bird sing?” said the master. “Yes” said the disciple.

“Well now you know that I have hidden nothing from you” “Yes.”

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Over the past five years, The Vista Zen Center has helped support Soroptimist International of Vista with their annual event to raise awareness about the horrors of human trafficking. Two years ago, the Center organized an art show to be viewed during the Human Trafficking Awareness Walk sponsored by SIV (see video of the Human Trafficking Awareness Art Exhibit at the 2012 event at the Art and Zen Video Channel (click on tab at top of the page). This year I helped create a short video based on a Poem written and read by Kaye Van Nevel, who is the Chair of the Human Rights/Advancement of the Status of Women Committee” in the Vista branch of Soroptimist International.

Below is the link to the video. After that you will find a poem by Jon Wesick, a prolific poet who is also a member of The Vista Zen Center. You can find another poem by Jon in a post titled “POEMS AND IMAGES FROM FIVE VISTA ZEN CENTER ARTISTS” published in Sept 2013 (See the Archives list to the right of the page). Jon’s poem is loosely based on The Heart Sutra, one of the chants that has historically been central to Zen Buddhist practice. It also deals with the human trafficking issue and I think you will see why it is a perfect fit with Kaye’s poem.

For a variety of reasons it seems that artists of all types are drawn to the practice of Zen. For this installment, I asked four other artists from the Vista Zen Center to join me in providing a pairing of poetry and visual images. Each combination is very different from the others but each reflects the committed practice of the artist. I hope you take the time to savor each of these pairings.

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We begin with the work of Jiyu Roshi, who is the founder and teacher at The Vista Zen Center.His digital paintings may be seen at his website.

"No Choice?" Digital Paiting by Jiyu Roshi

No Choice?

The Way is not difficult

for those who do not pick and choose.

The Way is not difficult

for those who do pick and choose.

When you walk the Way,

just walk the Way.

It is not near,

it is not far.

It just is.

Just do not get in the way

of the Way.

Or, Just get in the way

of the Way.

Either way Is the Way.

Either way is.

Either way

Is neither

The Way

Nor not

the

Way.

I think I’ll go away

Now.

————————————————————————————————————–

David Clark’s blogsite “FromThe Lone Oak” is a wonderful showcase of his poetry, often accompanied by visual images. The image below was created by David on his I Pad.

"Sitting" created by David Clark on his I Pad using "Paper 53 App"

“Sitting”, David Clark

Without Effort

Unattended and without effort,

The Earth spins on,

Endlessly describing an arc

Around a star

That never blinks.

Rain, without urging,

Always finds its way

Back to the sea.

—————————————————————————————————————–

Jane Mushinsky teaches literature at Mira Costa College and has contributed poems for various publications and poetry readings. She recently returned from Kenyon Ohio where she had won a spot at the Kenyon Review Summer Poetry Workshop.

The quote above was embedded in my post “Mindfulness Wars: Langer Versus Buddha?”It was not until I was proofreading the post that I realized how profound these 5 sentences were.Interestingly, Jiyu Roshi used this quote as a basis for a talk at the Vista Zen Center a few days after the post had been published andI found myself feeling a bit embarrassed as I had not printed author’s name, mainly because I did not take the time to look for it.I later learned that the quote is attributed to Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, whose excellent book “Mindfulness In Plain English” I had read years ago.

In “Mindfulness Wars”, I describedmindfulness training as a process where one learns to catch themselves (“remembering to remember”) as they drift into prolonged thought-sequences and then refocus their attention on internal sensations. (See Creative Refocusing) This kind of training may be viewed as one where a person learns to “awaken” themselves again and again from the “sleep” or “hypnosis” of ordinary consciousness which consists primarily of what might be called “internal dialogue”.These internal dialogues are necessarily oriented towards either past or future experiences and to the extent that we can awaken ourselves, however briefly, we become aware of (or are in) the present moment as experienced through our somatic awareness. (see The Artist is Present)

Through meditation or some other form of mindfulness training, one can learn, over time, to also “awaken” more often in the midst of daily activities and interactions.So the “time” that Guraratana is speaking of in the above quote, is the spit second that one gains when momentarily remembering/catching/awakening themselves before reacting automatically and mindlessly to whatever is going on around them.This split second allows for a consideration of the consequences (for oneself and others) of any mindless reactions and for a creative (i.e. new ) response instead.This is the choice that Guraratana says is won when we have time to mindfully consider our responses to what is happening to us in any moment.

Although, as seen in “Mindfulness Wars”, Langer’s approach to mindfulness is slightly different, the above description seems consistent with how she describes personal “reinvention” through engaging oneself in various artistic pursuits.Late in the book is a Chapter entitled ” The Mindful Choice” which begins with a quote from Picasso saying ” I don’t know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colors I am going to use”. Langer goes on to say the following:

It’s time to get started.Now that we understand that we shouldn’t worry about what other will think about our first painting, poem, or whatever it is we choose to do, that comparing ourselves with others is not in our best interest, that talent is not necessary, in short, that we are going to engage our creativity mindfully, it is time to go to the store and get whatever we need.Once we are there however, the simple task of getting ready often quickly becomes daunting.How do we decide what we need….In the face of such uncertainty, we perhaps ought to pay close attention to Picasso’s words, if we are to proceed mindfully, perhaps we shouldn’t be interested in knowing the answers to these question in advance.We should just buy whatever colors appeal to us, whatever bushes we think interesting, and some surface on which to paint.(pg. 212)

The remainder of her chapter echoes this same advice – decisions are made in ignorance because if we knew what to do we would just do it. Decisions are problematic, says Langer only when we think that we should know, up front, what the right choice is. She goes on to provide an interesting analysis ( too lengthy to discuss in detail here) of what occurs during decision-making.The essence of what she says sounds very Buddhist, although she eschews Buddhist terminology.Her main point is that since we never can know the outcome of any decision we make and since conditions are constantly changing, the best we can do is make whatever decision is called for based on whatever information we have at hand and whatever makes sense to us in the moment.So, whether we are talking about creating art or any other areas of life, we can always make new decisions based on whatever is happening in that later moment.Langer argues that neither forestalling decisions (deliberating endlessly with the hope that new information will become available) nor automatically relying on some external rule or advice encourage mindful living.

At one point Langer declares “For some people , then decision-making is not stressful at all, because they are content with whatever consequences result” (pg. 217) .This, and other comments, sounds very much like they are expressing the Buddhist ideal of equanimity; that is, not being attached to certain outcomes. A famous Chinese Zen poem begins with the line “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences”. (Third Ch’an Patriarch Chien-chih Seng-ts’an) Langer would probably say that letting go of comparing oneself with others, and concerns about how one is being evaluated will lead to one taking themselves “less seriously” and thus, less concerned about always making the “right” decision or choice.

Based on my own experiences with painting, I agree with Langer that this type of activity canhelp one to learn not to take things so seriously.So-called “mistakes” (i.e. “bad” decisions”) can often leadto later decisions that result in one going in directions never imaged. Furthermore, one can always white-out the canvas and simply begin again, hopefully having learned something from the so called “mistake”.To the extent that one can gradually drop concerns about how well one is doing according to some set of arbitrary external standards, one can let go and enjoy the process of creating and any choices or decisions that need to be made can become less stressful.

At the risk of flogging a dead horse, I want to reiterate what I said in “Mindfulness Wars”.The process that Langer refers to as “Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity” can be strengthened by the kind of mindfulness meditation recommended by Gunaratana in “Mindfulness in Plain English

In the long Langer quote, printed above, she seems to suggest that after reading the earlier chapters on letting go of self-evaluation and various anxieties about our creative practice, the reader should now be ready to dive in and start creating mindfully. But her next sentence suggests that she knows it is not that easy.Having painted for a period of ten years, I can attest to the fact that every time I approach my studio, I am confronted (i.e. I confront myself) with all sorts of thoughts and worries that can undermined the enjoyment of painting as well as restrict my creativity.

I have read interviews with artists of all sorts and have concluded that such thoughts and worries are simply part of the creative process.I believe, along with Langer, that simply engaging in artistic practices for a long period of time can help a practitioner learn to live with this fact.But, I also believe that daily mindfulness training can facilitate and deepen this process.

The time that Gunaratana says is gained when we practice mindfulness can allow us to nip in the bud all the creativity-defeating thoughts such as those covered in Langer’s early chapters.These kinds of thoughts infuse themselves into all aspects of our lives and it may seem surprising that they appear even when we are engaged in activities that we love to do.I would suggest however, that it may be easier to become mindful about them, and eventually let go of them, when we are doing things we are passionate about.

In the literature promoting mindfulness training, authors commonly emphasize how the practitioner can use the time gained in mindfulness to re-channel angry reactions into responses that lead to less suffering for themselves and others.I do not think that it is far fetched to consider such redirection as a form of mindful creativity since the alternative, bought by time, allow for a novel response.Pairing daily mindfulness training with a mindful approach to fun activities, such as the arts, can provide a practicum of sorts for developing creative mindfulness in the widest sense of the term.Here one may learn how to extend his or her mindfulness training into activities which require moment by moment decision-making.By learning to “gain time” through practicing mindfulness in such situations, the practitioner is also gaining skills that can be used in situations where the consequences of his or her choices are perceived as being more “serious. And, there is reason to believe that the time necessary to make skillful choices diminishes with mindfulness practice (see “Yeah Man: Improvisation in Jazz, Comedy and Zen).

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